It is easy to see from this week how the weather affects business continuity. A powerful spring storm system will bring the threat of tornadoes and damaging winds from Oklahoma, through the Mississippi Valley and onto the Mid-Atlantic states; snow will blanket parts of the northern states; and wildfire risks will increase across New Mexico, Texas and Oklahoma. These are just a few of the weather events that may cause widespread power outages, shut down the movement of goods and damage buildings and infrastructures.
What is harder for businesses to see is how weather risk plans created well before weather events occur build the weather resiliency needed for events like these. In a previous Forbes article I have written about some of the cited reasons.
The Importance of Weather Resiliency
One of the most important things the past five years have taught us all is the value of having a solid business resilience strategy that attempts to minimize and adapt to different kinds of disruptions. Weather, of course, should be part of any ongoing resilience strategy.
If a hurricane, flood, ice storm or wildfire can take your business offline for a day, week, month or longer, weather resilience needs to be front and center in any productive business continuity plan. Many businesses give weather its due. But with weather patterns changing and the number of extreme events on the rise, many others undervalue its importance to a business’s ongoing viability.
Weather events devastate a region, physically and economically. For an illustration, look no farther than effects of Hurricane Helene in September 2024. The Category 4 storm killed 230 people in North Carolina and Georgia, destroyed or damaged 70,000 homes, flooded roads and bridges and shut down power for 4.7 million citizens. This caused up to $250 billion in economic impact, leaving businesses scrambling to staff shifts and keep operations running.
Determining Weather Risks Ahead Of Weather Events
While nobody can control the weather — yes, people have asked me — companies can use data to better prepare for its effects. Using high-level regional forecasts, businesses in the Midwest, for example, could prepare for April forecasts that call for Arctic air and rounds of snow. In the Southwest, from California across to Texas, dry conditions are expected to cause droughts. On the East Coast, from Georgia up to Maine, storms are expected to let up in the spring.
Having this data available a few months ahead of time, businesses in Michigan could buy extra heating oil to prep for longer-than-usual cold snaps. Farmers in southern California could alter watering strategies to keep crops robust during a coming draught. And building operators in western North Carolina can confidently schedule renovations in March and April, given the forecast for less rain.
Granular Insights Reduce Risks
Still, weather resiliency is about more than just creating long-range plans. It’s about having hyper-local weather data on hand, so businesses can examine very specific scenarios. They can create contingency plans and pivot quickly to make decisions that improve their bottom lines and in some cases even save their businesses.
For example, weather data can help airlines plan which flights to hold or send in the air. In a windstorm, an airport operator can pull up a weather map that says the wind is gusting at 8 knots in the city. Meanwhile, weather data that drills down further can reveal that winds on a specific runway are up to 11 knots, exceeding the threshold to close that runway.
Accurate forecasts help the LPGA pro tour create a better customer and partner experience. Rather than rely on a single forecast covering an area the size of a golf course, they can isolate forecasts for certain parts of the course, identifying where hot spots will be so they can strategically locate tents, water stations and medical stations in the right areas. They can also project the severity of late-afternoon winds, making sure they don’t put a tent in an area where it could blow away.
And on the logistics side, weather technology can deliver accurate forecasts for the slickness of the pavement on specific roads. This helps trucking companies reroute deliveries around certain areas where they’re more likely to encounter patches of ice.
Technology can also help trucks avoid one of the biggest cause of crashes: high winds. This past week we saw multiple examples of blow overs, like this truck captured on video in Kansas. Advanced forecasts integrated with other data sources, like road conditions and topography, help transportation companies make informed choices about rerouting trucks, adjusting departure times and restricting operations of empty trucks during hazardous conditions. Blow overs are not only a safety risk but also a legal and financial hazard. One transportation customer told me a single truck blow-over due to high winds has a financial impact potential of up to $200 million.
Business Continuity Demands Weather Resiliency
In today’s global economy companies are hardening their defenses against everything from cyber breaches to supply chain glitches and talent shortages. Resilience to extreme weather events should also be a top priority. A thoughtful risk plan tailored for the business will help decision-makers plan, prepare and reduce risks, event when experiencing extreme weather events like now.
